In light of the many unprecedented heatwaves striking the northern hemisphere in this year of a super El Niño summer, this episode of The Pebble in the Cosmic Pond is dedicated to summer-heat, and to the human physical, cultural, culinary, and medical responses to it. Using Sabine’s continued experiences in Vietnam as our starting point, we consider heat as a factor both internal and external, physiological and pathological, macrocosmic and microcosmic, and we look at the therapeutic role of fluids, and water in particular. Here are some questions we address:

• How do we know whether sweating is too little, just right and healthy, or too much? What are the key diagnostic signs for a differential diagnosis?
• When and how do we stop or prevent, or conversely initiate and promote sweating?
• What are the benefits and dangers, possibilities and limitations, of the most common popular practice of replenishing fluids and cooling the body by drinking cold water?
• What can we use instead of water to replace fluids lost through sweating? To consider just two traditional Vietnamese options, what is the different physiological effect of consuming cold sweet and sour fruit drinks versus light clear warm or hot soups?
• When, how, and why can we use watermelon, mango, citrus, and passionfruit, or even a Gin and Tonic?
• For our professional Chinese medicine listeners, what are the indications and contraindications and key diagnostic signs for the traditional Chinese treatment goal of lì shuǐ 利水 “disinhibit water,” beyond promoting urination to eliminate internal heat?
• Last but definitely not least, what’s with the coconut?

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